


i know each shadow of your lips by rote

by yousetmyheartonfire



Category: Dead Poets Society (1989)
Genre: Kissing, M/M, Poetry, just guys being dudes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-10 04:07:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18652582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yousetmyheartonfire/pseuds/yousetmyheartonfire
Summary: Todd has never been kissed, Neil can’t believe it.Title credited to Swinburne





	i know each shadow of your lips by rote

They were studying the romantics, so of  _course_ Keating  assigned a poem about romance. Todd could manage to write about love, but Keating wanted something specific. They had to write about their first kiss. Which, in reality, would surely yield some beautiful poetry. For Todd, though, it was causing unrestrained stress. There was one small problem with the assignment: Todd had never been kissed. He thought that he could make up some scenario and write about it but he knew that the teacher would see through any facade that he tried to put up. The poem had to be authentic, but Todd had no experience. 

It was getting late as he stared at the still blank page in his notebook. Neil had forgone his studying in favor of throwing a ball of paper in the air and catching it. Sometimes it would hit the ceiling or land on Neil’s face, but other than that it was a monotonous activity. Todd finally fell back onto his bed with a groan. 

“Writer’s block?” Neil asked. It was the first time he disturbed Todd all night, as he didn’t want to “interrupt the creative process.”

“You could say that,” Todd answered wearily. 

Neil propped himself up on his elbows, laying on his stomach. “Is it the assignment for Keating?” 

Todd looked over at him, but found it hard to maintain eye contact. “Yeah, I cant do it.”

“Oh please, you’ll get it eventually and write the best poem Keating has ever read,” Neil waved a hand dismissively.

“No,” Todd sat back up. “I really can’t do the poem.”

“Why not?” Neil probed. 

Todd felt heat rise to his face disputes his best efforts. “Because I’ve never been kissed,” he mumbled. 

“What?” 

“I’ve never been kissed,” he said, shifting to sit on the edge of his bed. 

Neil blinked, then smiled. “Oh, why didn’t you just say so?” 

Todd didn’t process the words until Neil was standing up and walking over to him. He looked up, confused, as Neil leaned down so their faces were too close. When he pressed their lips together, Todd was shocked. He took a moment to respond, and when he finally did, Neil pulled away.

“There, hopefully you don’t write about how awful it was.” Neil sat next to him, arm resting on his shoulder. Todd looked over at him, stunned, and Neil placed his head on his arm. It reminded him of when they watched Knox call Chris a few days ago. 

“I think...” Todd tried to get his thoughts in order. “You should do that again. For the sake of the poem, of course.”

Neil smiled and connected their lips again. This time, Todd responded in earnest. The arm that once rested on Todd’s shoulder was holding his jaw lightly and made his heart flutter. 

They should probably talk about it, but Todd had a poem to write and nobody could hinder his new inspiration. 


End file.
